130. Friday after First Sunday in Lent.
Reveal to us, Lord Jesus, thy love and thy power. Amen.
John 18, 4-9. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: that the saying might be fulfilled which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none.
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The Lord had said: “No man taketh my life from me, but I lay it down of myself.” (John 10, 18). He went to his death of his own free will; else he could not have been led to it by any power in the world. The only force that urged him onward was the will of the Father, the eternal counsel of love concerning our salvation by means of his death; his infinite mercy only, with which he embraces us, is the power that led the Lamb of God to the slaughter. Had he gone to his passion reluctantly, with repugnance and aversion, to which the devil in Gethsemane persistently tempted him with the most dreadful craftiness, he would not have been able to take away our load of guilt.
The Lord’s simple statement, “I am he,” causes the armed band to fall to the ground. He thereby demonstrates to us that of his own free will he allows himself to be bound. Thereby he also preaches a penitential sermon to Judas and the others; for Jesus cannot do otherwise than practice his office of love for the benefit of all who come near to him. And are they still determined to lay hands on him to bind him? It was to be expected that his majesty would smite their hearts and cause them to turn back, as did those other servants who had been sent to seize him. (John 7, 46). But no; the hour of darkness is come, and Satan is now to be permitted to make use of these men for the purpose of putting the Son of God in chains. Unhappy the mothers who gave you birth! — And now the Lord uses all his might solely for the salvation of his disciples. “If therefore ye seek me, let these go their way.” In these words he gives them a letter of safe conduct which the enemies are compelled to respect. What would have become of the poor disciples, if they also had been seized at this time and led to their death? How strong a Lord is Jesus, and how true! He lays down his life of himself, in order that we may live; and he cares for us everywhere, in the most hopeless circumstances, that he may lose none of them which the Father gave him. Keep this in your heart, and call it to mind when you are being tempted. His power and love and fidelity are with you to save you. Have faith in him.
We heartily thank thee, precious Lord Jesus, that thou dost shelter us under thy wings, save us by thy death, and defend us with thy almighty word. Give us the light and the gifts of thy Holy Spirit, that we may believe in thee, follow thee, and suffer and die with thee. Amen.
Rejected and despised of men,
Behold a man of woe!
And grief his close companion still
Through all his life below!
Yet all the griefs he felt were ours,
Ours were the woes he bore;
Pangs, not his own, his spotless soul
With bitter anguish tore.